Four SD pols return tainted funds

DeMaio, Dumanis, Gloria, Vargas return a combined $5,900

DOWNTOWN SAN DIEGO  Four San Diego politicians announced Wednesday they had returned a combined $5,900 in campaign contributions they had received from a former police detective at the center of a growing campaign-finance scandal.

Rep. Juan Vargas, D-San Diego, Interim Mayor Todd Gloria, District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis and congressional candidate Carl DeMaio each said they had given the money back or were in the processing of doing so. They each accepted contributions from Ernesto Encinas, a former San Diego detective who authorities accuse of conspiring to illegally funnel more than $500,000 from a foreign national into local races.

Only one other politician — former Mayor Bob Filner — received a donation from Encinas and has yet to respond to questions about it. Filner got $500.

None of the contributions from Encinas are considered illegal, but some of the politicians chose to distance themselves from Encinas nonetheless.

Encinas is accused of orchestrating a complex scheme with Ravneet Singh, the owner of Washington, D.C.-based campaign-services firm, to help a Mexican businessman illegally inject hundreds of thousands of dollars into San Diego elections. Under the law, foreign nationals are prohibited from contributing to elections at any level.

Vargas received the most — a combined $3,500 — from Encinas for his successful 2012 congressional bid. He said he directed the Democratic Party and his own campaign committee to return any funds from Encinas.

“Transparency is crucial to an individual’s faith in their elected officials and their government,” Vargas said in a statement. “That is why I am shocked at these claims and, if true, am offended by the actions of these individuals. If any contributions did not come from the disclosed source, I was not aware of it.”

Dumanis, who is running for re-election as district attorney, returned the combined $1,400 she received from Encinas and his wife for her DA campaign but couldn't return the $1,000 she received from Encinas for her 2012 mayoral bid because that account is closed.

DeMaio received $500 from Encinas in September 2013 for his current congressional bid while Gloria received the same amount in his 2012 re-election bid for City Council.

DeMaio's campaign spokesman, Dave McCulloch, said that in light of the serious allegations they searched their donor database and discovered the contribution from Encinas.

"Because we believe it may be the same person, we opted to immediately return the contribution," McCulloch said.

Dumanis, Filner and Vargas also have additional connections to Encinas.

The federal complaint against Encinas and Singh said they used more than $200,000 from the foreign national to help Dumanis’ failed 2012 bid for San Diego mayor. Half the money went to a pro-Dumanis PAC supporting her candidacy while the other half was paid to Singh’s firm to provide social-media services on behalf of Dumanis.

They did the same for Filner in the fall 2012 runoff to the tune of $120,000. The money went to an independent PAC supporting Filner.

The complaint doesn’t name the politicians although they were confirmed to the U-T San Diego by a source close to the FBI investigation.

The foreign national also was not identified in the complaint, but it referred to news reports in CityBeat that identified him as Mexican businessman Jose Susumo Anzano Matsura.

In addition, the complaint also says Encinas met with an unidentified Candidate 2 to make a similar offer of spending help. Vargas fits the complaint’s description of Candidate 2 as someone running for federal office in November 2012.

Besides the campaign contributions from Encinas, Vargas also named him one of the state’s 55 electors to the Electoral College to vote for president in 2012, according to the CalPolitiCal blog.

Vargas didn’t respond to questions about his relationship with Encinas or if he is Candidate 2.